Julio Cortez/APDevils winger Petr Sykora celebrates after scoring his second goal against the Sabres.

Scoring two goals for the first time in almost three years was satisfying for Devils winger Petr Sykora.

But it was the way the Devils bounced back from their loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C., that was on his mind.

"We didn't play well in Carolina," Sykora said after tonight's 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. "Those games are going to happen. With a tough schedule like this, once in a while you're going to have a tough game like that. It's not about that game. It's about the way you're going to bounce back and as a team we did. We got two points. That's the most important thing."

Captain Zach Parise agreed.

"The effort level in Carolina wasn't there," Parise said. "It's a tough game to play when you travel and play on the same day. But no excuses. We just weren't sharp. We didn't compete and tonight was better."

Sykora's first goal came on a pass from Martin Brodeur.

"He does that in practice all the time when we're doing the breakouts," Sykora said. "He gives me those passes through the middle. He's great with the puck, what can I say? He's got three or four assists. That's good for some forwards. And he actually could've had one and one (goal and assist) tonight. That's a great game for every forward."

Brodeur has three assists this season, giving him a 3-1 lead in his personal scoring competition with Cam Janssen.

"It's 3-1. I told him, too, during a TV timeout," Brodeur said.

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Protecting a two-goal lead in third period was important for the Devils, who have blown several this season.

"I liked our third period. I like how we handled playing with the lead," coach Pete DeBoer said. "That's what we expect. That's what we've been talking about. It's a critical part for us going forward here."

Parise added: "I thought we did a good job in the third of holding onto that lead, really not giving them too many opportunities. I think the biggest thing was to play the same as we did in the first two periods. That's something we've kind of gotten away from. When we've had the lead it's almost as if we've played way too passive and when we're not forechecking well it seems like we give up way too many opportunities. So I thought tonight we did a better job of playing the way we did in the first two periods."